Life in North Korea is dictated by the government and there is no alternative. Although
details of life in North Korea are based on some outside observations and communication
with North Korean tour guides, much of what is known, including that below is mere
speculation based upon the few facts that are known to be true.

The people are taught from a young age about North Korea, the country's leadership,
and the outside world, as viewed from the government's perspective. As no outside
opinions or viewpoints exist in the country, most people believe what they are taught
and are unlikely to question that which the government says, especially publically.

Life in North Korea is consumed by the government as nearly every adult works a
full schedule and once children are old enough to enter day care most do. These
are government-run and once children are about 5 years old they go to a government-run
boarding school until the age of 16. During this time there is no possible way parents
can be a greater influence than their teachers who spend every day with them. And
the teachers are appointed by the government and overseen by the government so their
perspectives and information is likely in line with official government opinion.

After years of boarding school it is difficult for any parent to believe their child
could have any doubts of the government. Even if parents disagree with the government
privately, it is unlikely they would pass those opinions on to their children since
their children spend more time in government-run education facilities than with
their parents. None-the-less, parents care deeply for their children and want to
see them succeed, human nature can't be completely removed no matter how much
time is spent in biased educational facilities.

Upon reaching adulthood, which appears to be in the upper teen years, young North
Koreans are expected to marry, start a family, and begin working. At this time the
cycle repeats itself as these young people enter the work force. Nearly a third
of the population works in agriculture, with everyone else in the industrial and
services sectors. Hours are long in North Korea and conditions could be in any number
of places as there is no outside source to guarantee worker safety or properly operating
machinery.

Despite all the hard work, the pay in North Korea is likely very poor, although
the government provides that which the people need to survive. This makes the people
even more reliant on the government, the underlying theme in North Korean culture
and their daily way of life.

Identity

The North Koreans view themselves as "Korean"
just as the South Koreans do. As in the south, the Koreans
in the north are very proud people who will defend who they believe they are at
all costs. After centuries under foreign rule, the entire Korean Peninsula reacted
in a very proud fashion since gaining independence in the early 1950s. Like the
south, this "Korean" identity is truly all encompassing of the North Korean
lifestyle, but focused on ethnicity and politics. However, unlike the south, the
North Korean lifestyle and culture that supports their identity of being "Korean"
is very different from the lifestyle in the south. In this way, the North Koreans
only accept citizens of the country who follow governmental stances, speak with
the correct accent, work in the right fields, and act in the correct manner to truly
be "Korean."

Most of the North Korean people believe the South Koreans are somewhat "Korean"
much like themselves, but also believe the South Korean government as an evil so
no one from the south can be trusted, nor entirely included in the North's definition
of "Korean."